The present invention is related generally to systems for planning and editing motion video information. More particularly, the present invention is related to computer-assisted motion video editing systems, wherein motion video information is stored as a sequence of digital still images in a data file on a computer system.
Computer systems with motion video editing tools have been used to produce major motion picture films, television shows, news broadcasts and in corporate settings to edit motion video. Unlike word processing tools, however, such motion video editing tools are not yet common for home use, primarily due to the cost of motion video editing tools, including hardware and software, and the complexity of the architecture and graphical user interface.
The high cost of motion video editing tools for computers is due, in part, to specialized hardware used to capture, digitize, compress, decompress and display motion video information on a computer screen with sufficient detail and resolution. The complexity of the graphical user interface of these motion video editing tools is due, in part, to the variety of possible operations which can be performed on motion video and also to a design for professionals familiar with motion video editing, and terms and concepts of that trade, with which the average person is unfamiliar. For example, many systems use a representation of a motion video composition as two tracks, A and B, between which xe2x80x9crollingxe2x80x9d occurs. The concept of A/B rolling is unduly complex and has been simplified in other systems by using a xe2x80x9ctimeline,xe2x80x9d such as in the AVID/1 Media Composer from Avid Technology, Inc., of Tewksbury, Mass. Another complexity is the use, of multiple windows for controlling the various parameters of the motion video, displaying the motion video itself, sound track controls, and other features.
Another drawback of many motion video editing tools for computers is that most people have not been taught how to communicate ideas using motion video or how to efficiently produce a motion video program. Schools commonly teach written and oral expression and expression through still graphics but not motion video. While most motion video editing tools for computers are suitable for creating motion video programs, few tools assist in the creative design, planning and production of motion video programs.
Accordingly, a general aim of this invention is to provide a motion video editing system for a computer with reduced cost and complexity. Another aim of this invention is to provide a motion video editing system for a computer with tools for assisting creative design and planning of a motion video composition.
The present invention provides a simplified interface which directs a user through the process of editing a video program. In one aspect of the invention, the interface also enables a user to plan a video program. Alternatively selectable interfaces, each of which provide a group of planning, capturing, editing, and recording functions provide an intuitive interface for producing a video program. Other simplifications to the user interface can be provided to assist in editing, such as by maintaining the video display window at a fixed position. Additionally, video information can be captured directly into a timeline representation of a video program, rather than a bin. Using a storyboard tied to the capturing process, a user is directed through the process of collecting and capturing the video clips to be used in the video program.
Accordingly, one aspect of the invention is a graphical user interface for a computer motion video editing system, which has a single window interface including a plurality of alternatively selectable interfaces. A first of the plurality of selectable interfaces is an interface for making capturing commands available to a user for receiving motion video information to be edited. A second of the plurality of selectable interfaces is an interface for making editing commands available to a user for editing the received motion video information. A third of the plurality of selectable interfaces is an interface for making playback commands available to a user for outputting the edited motion video information to an external device. In one embodiment, a fourth of the plurality of selectable interfaces includes an interface for making storyboarding commands available to a user for preparing a plan describing a motion video program to be edited.
In another embodiment, the second of the plurality of selectable interfaces further includes a second plurality of alternatively selectable interfaces, wherein each selectable interface provides a set of editing functions of a particular type, and wherein each selectable interface has a video region for previewing the motion video program being edited and wherein the video region in each of the selectable interfaces is at an identical position within the single window interface.
Another aspect of the invention is a graphical user interface for editing computer motion video having a single window interface having a plurality of alternatively selectable interfaces. Each selectable interface provides a set of motion video editing functions of a different type. Each selectable interface also has a video region for previewing the motion video to be edited such that the video region in each selectable interface is at the same position within the single window interface.
Another aspect of the invention is a graphical user interface for a computer for assisting editing of a motion video program, having a planner module with inputs for receiving commands from a user descriptive of a plan of shots of video in the video program and providing an output representative of the plan. A capture module has a first input for receiving the plan defined by the user, a second input for receiving an input from a user for controlling recording of motion video information, and a third input for receiving a selection of a shot in the received plan. The capture module has an output in which captured motion video information is associated directly with the selected shot to provide the motion video program as a sequence of the recorded clips in an order defined by the plan.
Another aspect of the invention is computer video capture system which represents a sequence of video clips in a video program. Clips of a video program are captured directly into the represented sequence.
Another aspect of the invention is a set of a plurality of predefined plans stored in a computer memory. One aspect of this invention includes a mechanism for selecting one of the plans, for editing a selected plan, and for capturing video and for automatically generating a video sequence according to the selected plan.
Another aspect of the invention is a process for capturing motion video information and for generating a video program of a plurality of clips of captured motion video information. The process involves selecting a clip of the video program, capturing video information and associating the captured video information with the selected clip of the video program. In one embodiment, the step of selecting includes the step of selecting a shot from a plan representing and associated with the video program. In this embodiment, the step of associating includes the step of associating the captured video information with the clip of the video program associated with the selected shot from the plan.
In another embodiment, the process further involves performing the step of indicating whether a clip of the video program has captured motion video information associated thereto.
These and other aspects, goals, advantages and features of the invention will be apparent from a reading of the following detailed description.